Battery Tenders-Anyone use them?

[Dan17]

My Tahoe can sit for a while sometimes a good week and I was wondering if plugging in a Battery Tender would be a good idea or something not really needed.
I keep a Battery Tender on the bike all the time when it is not being ridden.

Does it sound like a good idea to have the Tahoe on the Battery Tender?

 

[3JFamily]

Sitting for a week shouldn't be an issue. How much do you drive it after it's been sitting?

I use one between two of our cars. One, Camaro, hasn't been driven in over a year and the tender is on it all the time.
The other one, Mustang, might get driven once or twice a month. I'll put the tender on it maybe once a month for a day then switch back to the other car.

I replaced the fuel pump on the Camaro and it started up with no issues after a year.

 

[Bill 1960]

A week I wouldn’t bother.

 

[iamdub]

I'm a fan of maintainers that also de-sulfate. Mine sits for a week, sometimes two. Sure, this doesn't drain the battery. But, there's still a steady load that is constantly drawing down the voltage. The maintainer keeps it charged while also keeping in de-sulfated.

I have the BatteryMINDer 1510: https://www.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Model-1500-SmarTECHnology-Motorcycles/dp/B00Q3CM2QY?th=1

It's only 1.5 amp, which should be good for a battery that's already in 'good' condition. But, for desulfation, the general rule is to buy as strong (amps) of a desulfator as you can afford. The NOCO Genius line seems to be really good stuff.

 

[swathdiver]

My Tahoe can sit for a while sometimes a good week and I was wondering if plugging in a Battery Tender would be a good idea or something not really needed.
I keep a Battery Tender on the bike all the time when it is not being ridden.

Does it sound like a good idea to have the Tahoe on the Battery Tender?

Yes! Especially if you only drive it a short bit and then let it sit again for a week, the battery doesn't get a chance to become full recharged and there's no de-sulfating to extend the life of the battery.

I went through this about a year and a half ago and one guy on here had about two dozen different kinds. I think he was the president of his local battery tender addicts program!

BatteryMINDer® Model 1510: 12-Volt 1.5 Amp Maintenance Charger/Desulfator Including a 10 Year Warranty

Battery MINDer's 1510 12 volt desulfating battery charger maintainer can extend the life of a battery up to four times its normal span.

www.batteryminders.com

 

[Mudsport96]

I use one on the Nova. It gets driven maybe 5000 miles a year and doesn't see the road from the first of November till the first of May (per the Extended Antique plates that i run on it). And it always fires up in the spring.

 

[MimiAmi]

for the one that is sitting outside, I have a solar panel (1.8w and 103mA max) facing south... connected to the cigarette lighter. Rarely driven in the last year... it starts fine. For the indoor one, the battery is disconnected and trickle charged once a month with a trickle charger "Noco Genius G1100", (corrected model number), it is not a 1100 amp booster, only a trickle charger , rather fancy... because it reboosted the battery capacity, even after 2 months the battery is still at 12.6 volts.
Noco is made in the USA , since 1914...

 

[hcvone]

1-2 weeks and you will be fine, I plug my Callaway tohoe in around May and then unplug it in Nov or Dec when it's that time of the year to drive the truck

 

[Stbentoak]

CTEK tenders are the gold standard of maintainers. Many OEMS use and sell them as accessories rebranded. I have 2 MXS 5.0 ones and they are flawless. I have seasonal vehicles and it keeps them in tip top condition at both 90 deg and 10 deg temps....

 

[Dan17]

Okay, I'm going with the Battery Tender idea. I also had one for our 2 classic which we don't have any more but I'm thinking of this 2017 that sits and has a lot of electronics that can drain a battery over time. My GL is all ways on a BT.

Those that use a battery tender, do you have a plug near the grill that you plug the tender into or do you use the supplied alligator clamps and place them on the battery post each time you put the vehicle on the tender?

Thanks for the tips on the other tender/maintainers, I'll look into them for the Tahoe.

 

[swathdiver]

Okay, I'm going with the Battery Tender idea. I also had one for our 2 classic which we don't have any more but I'm thinking of this 2017 that sits and has a lot of electronics that can drain a battery over time. My GL is all ways on a BT.

Those that use a battery tender, do you have a plug near the grill that you plug the tender into or do you use the supplied alligator clamps and place them on the battery post each time you put the vehicle on the tender?

Thanks for the tips on the other tender/maintainers, I'll look into them for the Tahoe.

Mine came with the alligator clips and a more permanent option to connect an adapter to each terminal and just plug it in when needed.

 

[Rocket Man]

I use a NOCO Genius on my Silverado that sits for a week or two. It’s mounted under the hood and I ran a 120v extension along the frame to the rear and used the trailer harness area (I never tow with it, long story) to mount a receptacle so I can back it in and just plug it in. You could mount the receptacle anywhere you wanted.

 

[muncie21]

My non-daily/weekly driver vehicles all get put on a battery tender in the garage. This includes my bikes also

 

[pwtr02ss]

for the one that is sitting outside, I have a solar panel (1.8w and 103mA max) facing south... connected to the cigarette lighter. Rarely driven in the last year... it starts fine. For the indoor one, the battery is disconnected and trickle charged once a month with a trickle charger "Noco Genius G1100", (corrected model number), it is not a 1100 amp booster, only a trickle charger , rather fancy... because it reboosted the battery capacity, even after 2 months the battery is still at 12.6 volts.
Noco is made in the USA , since 1914...

I have a solar for the outside cars as well. Just lay the solar panel on the dash and done. For inside car, I use a battery tender jr. Both seem to work fine

 

[EvergreenZ71]

for the one that is sitting outside, I have a solar panel (1.8w and 103mA max) facing south... connected to the cigarette lighter. Rarely driven in the last year... it starts fine. For the indoor one, the battery is disconnected and trickle charged once a month with a trickle charger …

I’ve also done the solar panel without much luck here in Western Washington, but that was on my 92 Suburban that had a draw somewhere and sat a lot.

For this winter, I’ve installed quick disconnects on both batteries and if my daughter takes it to her home I’m looking at redoing the solar panels to go direct to the batteries; one dash-size to each that bypasses the disconnect. If she decides she doesn’t want the snow truck it’s getting sold.

On the 2010 that’s more of a family trip truck, it just needs a good freeway drive every 7-10 days.

 

[fozzi58]

I have an Optima Digital Battery tender on my Trans Am. This tender is good for standard and AGM batteries I bought the battery for the TA in July 05, an Optima Yellow top. Yes the battery in the TA is 16 year old and it starts every time, even after not running the car for months on end.

Spend the money on a good tender.

 

[bigdog9191999]

i just got this as a replacement for the last one i had. it dont get used much in the summer, but for this winter it will be jumping back and forth between a car, 2 bikes, and 2 mowers.


and i have been eyeballing a solor unit for the burb, as it sits for month or longer at a time usually.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DJ5KEEA?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

[hcvone]

I use the alligator clips, put the tender in the engine compartment and close the hood, but don't latch it, the truck sits in the garage in PA, mine sits for months between starts

 

[Spoolin]

Yes! Especially if you only drive it a short bit and then let it sit again for a week, the battery doesn't get a chance to become full recharged and there's no de-sulfating to extend the life of the battery.

I went through this about a year and a half ago and one guy on here had about two dozen different kinds. I think he was the president of his local battery tender addicts program!

BatteryMINDer® Model 1510: 12-Volt 1.5 Amp Maintenance Charger/Desulfator Including a 10 Year Warranty

Battery MINDer's 1510 12 volt desulfating battery charger maintainer can extend the life of a battery up to four times its normal span.

www.batteryminders.com

View attachment 354362

Ha! That was me!

Ive got the battery minder 1510 for my Tahoe. Can get them on sale often from northern tool. Recently got a noco genius 5 and a couple of noco to sae adapters to be able to use the 25’ extension cables I have for my battery minders, battery tenders and optimate chargers for all my motorized machines.

As an addict, we do stupid stuff on social media, so I may have posted a pic of all my drugs……

I mean battery support products. Lol

 

[Spoolin]

There’s a link to the other thread.

And I have the GM battery tap battery connectors on the Tahoe and have the pigtail hardwired since it sits for long times. The alligator clips get used on the Yimmy and anyone that needs to borrow a charger.

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